Custom Mobile: Little Bugs

I think one of my favorite things that I make in my shop Lavender Paper Hearts is baby mobiles. I love working with customers to come up with a design that ends up being exactly what they're looking for. Plus, my customers have AMAZING ideas that are often times things I never would have thought of.  Plus, working together to help make something that will help their baby's drift off to sleep is an extremely rewarding feeling.

Recently I had the pleasure of making a custom mobile for some dear friends of mine. When we started talking about what they were looking for for their baby's room, Jen and Jeff sent me some photos of concert posters they were having framed to use in Baby Bowie's room. The concert posters, as you can see below, were really cute retro-inspired brightly colored cartoons with bugs of all sorts. The bugs served as the jumping off point for the mobile. Jen and Jeff gave me a lot of flexibility to go in any buggy inspired direction I wanted. I tried my best to mimic at least a few of the bugs in the posters below as well as added a few bugs I thought would be a cute addition to the overall aesthetic of the final design.

I was also asked to incorporate the lightning bolt from David Bowie's Aladdin Sane album as a nod to Baby Bowie's in-utero nickname and now actual middle name! 

Here's what I came up with: 

I'm not gonna lie, I love how the wings turned out here. They added a nice extra layer of complexity to the mobile, and they were flying bugs, so, duh, they were necessary too!!

In addition to the rainbow featured above with the bee in the photo above, here are two other little extras I added to the mobile. I like to add what I call extras as a way to add further depth to the mobile. They give baby even more thing to dream about.  Below are the David Bowie lightning bolt and cloud.

I could not be more elated for Jen and Jeff. They will experience the true definition of overwhelming joy as they welcome little rainbow Lena Bowie in to the world, and I can't think of two people who deserve as much in this moment. I cannot wait to snuggle this little one in January when I head to California for baby-palooza.

XOXOXOXO

If you have an idea for a custom mobile, I'd love to hear it.  You can contact me through my shop Lavender Paper Hearts over on Etsy.  I have another custom mobile in my shop work queue that I can't wait to share with you once it's done in January. This one is puppy adventure inspired and is going to be so much fun!!

Custom Baby Mobile: Family Fun

In July I was commissioned to make a super-duper custom mobile for a special little baby.  Baby's aunt asked me to make a mobile that reflected mom and dad, and their three dogs!

The specifics: Auntie requested that baby's parents be dressed in jerseys from their favorite college football teams - Oklahoma University and Louisiana State University. I was told mom loves to wear black eye liner and fierce eye lashes so I was sure to do them up, and I was told that dad loves to rock a goatee and has bright blue eyes!

*I usually throw in a toothpick to give a sense of the mobile figure's size. 

Look at this teeny tiny jersey!

This gives you a sense of how I built their faces. It takes a lot of layering to get the features just right. 

Here is a photo of two of the puppies in progress. I worked hard to make them as three dimensional as possible.

Here are the photos of the dogs that my buyer sent me: 

 

Bear is a Newfoundland and is a big boy at 200 lbs. 

Drake, a Clumber Spaniel, is actually the smallest at 65 lbs. 

Nancy Reagan is a Great Pyrenees and weighs 130 lbs. 

I did my best to incorporate each puppies specific spots, coat textures, and other details.  

I ended up adding a shopping bag above mom since she loves to shop, and a football above dad.  Did you know footballs have 8 laces? Google told me.  

I included some of my homemade dog treats to the package for the dogs and shipped it off. It's being given to the new parents at their family baby debut party and I hope they love it!! 

You can check out my other baby mobiles in my shop: HERE. Do you have a custom mobile idea you'd like to see come to life? Contact me on Etsy at Lavender Paper Hearts or you can drop me an email at LavenderPaperHearts at gmail dot com. 

Custom Ordered Quilt

Over Father's Day we were hanging out with my FIL, and while we were there his partner Sue asked me to make a quilt for her nephew's new little one.  She wanted to make a quilt that incorporated pieces from her nephew's old football jersey.  Jersey quilts are a super sweet and sentimental way to be a bit nostalgic about a previous sports career at any level. Athletes tend to have many jerseys throughout their careers.  My sister played sports from a very young age all the way from high school and I bet we could have made a great big quilt if we'd thought to save them!!  Jersey quilts are also a great and fun way to continue to use the jerseys, and in a way that seems much better keeping them stashed away taking up space in a drawer or a box in the basement.  Since I had the one jersey to work with, it seemed like the perfect size for a baby blanket.  I was also really honored that Sue trusted me to take on such a project!!  I only had the one jersey to work with so there was very little room for error. (Trust me, I tried really hard NOT to think about this part!)   

When I was really little my Abuela taught me some basic sewing. I've sewn quite a few free-form projects over the years - everything from baby doll clothes, aprons for friends, clutches for my bridesmaids and so on, but I've never actually tackled something like a quilt.  As a weird coincidence, my SIL and I had just taken a basic quilting class over at Jo-Ann's Fabrics a week before so I had a feeling I could successfully tackle (hee hee get it?) this project.  I also emailed and chatted with my bffs on the west coast whenever I had a question!  There have been a lot of babies popping up in their family and they've whipped out some beautiful quilts recently.  (Thanks Ali & Jen!!)  Luckily, it worked out and I was pretty happy with the end results.  And even better, Sue was very pleased with the quilt!! Now I'm hoping to hear how it was received by the family it was sent to, too!!  

I thought I'd share some of the photos I took as I was working through some of the major steps in the quilt. Here's what I started with: 

These are the sections of the quilts that I decided to use as the central focus of the quilt.  It's the nameplate, the jersey numbers, and the bottom section is actually cut from the jersey's sleeve!!

Here I added some sweet and playful polka-dot material to help make the quilt a bit more youthful feeling. I also saved as much of the jersey as I could when I was cutting it apart so that I could incorporate more of the jersey into the quilt which you can see here.

I was working on this quilt during the massive heatwave we were having here in New England. It was SO hot. SO SO SO HOT. I was having to do a lot of ironing, like you do with a quilt, and man, it was hot in my craft room. Turns out my sewing table wasn't big enough to work with the quilt when it was laid out so I had to move it to my kitchen table when I started to add the batting and back fabric to the quilt. 

Here's a photo of me stitching in the ditch!! You can see the back fabric we choose on the right side of the photo.  Sue and I figured if you're going with a theme you should go all out, so bright green football fabric is what I found and we ultimately decided to go with. 

The only part I had a few problems with was the satin binding. It again was just, SO HOT, and to be honest I think I was tired and melting so my brain was, well, melting and tired. I also didn't have enough space so the satin was not cooperating with me during this step. My husband helped me drag in the kitchen table to my craft room and while it was nearly impossible to get in and out of the room, it was SO HELPFUL to have that extra table and, you know, more SPACE to work with the quilt.  I actually took 2 days off from the project and went back and finished it one morning with no problems. Go figure.

Here's the finished quilt! It measures about 33 inches by 46 inches tall and is a perfect little-one size. I hope it'll be a treasured item for the new baby. 

New Bow Ties & Bow Ties in Action

Hello there!

Summertime is officially here and this summer's theme seems to be weddings and babies!!  I've had quite a few custom order requests in the shop lately which is always fun and a nice creative challenge.  I'm currently halfway through finishing up a custom quilt which I'll share later in the month as well as 3, yes 3 (maybe 4) different custom mobiles.  Be sure to check back here on Wednesday. I'm going to have a post featured over at the blog Kiss My Tulle and I couldn't be more excited about it!!

By special request, I whipped up some Patriotic Pet Bow Ties for the shop.  You dog or cat will be ready to celebrate the 4th of July in style!! (Also, check out the beautiful color of my hydrangea!)

Patriotic Bow Tie

Last week I also got a custom order request for a navy satin bow tie with a satin collar.  The buyer wanted something cute to dress up her Yorkiepoo in for her wedding day.

Navy Satin Pet Bow Tie. Contact me to request an upgraded listing with the collar.

Now check out all of this cuteness: 

OMG - Hampton (a former S.N.O.R.T. - Short Noses Only Rescue Team-er) is *quite* the charmer. I recently got an update about Mr. Formal-Classic from his former foster mom. Hampton is a therapy dog and he works in hospitals and nursing homes helping people and he wears his Navy Satin Fancy Pet Bow Tie every time he's "on duty" cheering people up!! How great is he?!! 

This is Mojo!! His mom bought him a collar back in May so he could look fancy at her wedding.  I've got this photo for now of Mojo trying it on, but will have a professional photo or two later in the summer.  I'm so excited! 

Lastly, I whipped up some business cards to include with my bow ties and they, obviously, feature the exceptionally adorable in-house model.  Vertical design, purple backs, rounded corners, and a cute pup in a bow tie.  What's not to love?!! 

Yay For Baby Nessie

So one of my best friends Ali, or Bird as I call her, is having her first sweet little baby this July (I'm crossing my fingers for my birthday!!) I've known Bird since 7th grade when we were in science class together.  Ali missed the first week or two of school because she had an emergency appendectomy and when she did come back our teacher used to torture her by singing her name everyday during attendance.  (The song has since escaped my memory.)  Bird and I were in school together throughout middle school, high school, and even college! We've been to so many concerts together that I can't even begin to count them, and gone on many many adventures both big and small.  We're friends for life.  Her family is my family and I love them all.  I made the Star Wars themed mobile for her big sister Jen's baby, Luke, last summer.  (The Star Wars mobile is now in my shop.)

I was clearly eager to jump at the chance to create a mobile for Baby Nessie (so nicknamed after being conceived on a vacation in Scotland).  To start, Ali sent me links to some of the UBER-cute and super-fun art pieces for Baby Nessie's room.  The pieces are a bit all over the place in terms of characters and color schemes but I found a way to playfully bring them together. Nessie's parents are incredibly bold and are planning to move sometime very very soon (fingers crossed), so while I'm not sure what color her room will end up being, she's off to a great start with the art because it's all incredibly interesting and adorable too, and sure to captivate a baby's attention and imagination!!

Here are the art prints in the baby's room thus far:

22 Friends by Invisible Creatures

For Me It's Love (Home is Where You Make It) by Jolby 

Space Rangers SET- Boston Terrier Print by Rubenacker

See, they're all great, right? But they're all really different too. I love it.  Also included in room is a mix of Boston Terriers pups in honor of the house lady Muffaletta.  (Yes, she's named after the sandwich.)  Muffin has been Ali & Andy's baby for almost 6 years so she's the unofficial big sister around their house.  If you look below you'll see that Muffin is a pretty little girl.  I made sure that I mimicked her coloring (her socks in particular) in the figures where there were little legs showing!!

Just look at that cute face!! (Photo by her owners!)  

The final theme I came up with for the custom mobile was the idea of Boston Terriers playing dress-up.  You can see in the images below that I borrowed characters from each of the three art pieces and then incorporated both Ali and Andy's hobbies into the last two dogs to finish off the piece. 

Working clock wise:

1. Baking Boston - This was inspired by Ali. She makes amazingly delicious baked goodies. I even gave this plush eye lashes. The cupcake is made from extra material that Ali's sister Jen used in a quilt she made for baby Nessie. 

2. Monster Boston - I was inspired by the cute pink polka dot monster by Invisible Creatures. If you look at the monster on the left side hugging the tree that's my monster.

3. Owl Boston - The cute cuddly orange owl by Jolby is who this Boston is dressing up as. 

4. Skateboarding Boston - This plushy was for Andy! Andy likes to kick it old school at get out and about on his skateboard!  If you notice, the pups "socks" or legs are just like Muffin's!! 

5. Astronaut Boston - This one was inspired by the Rubenacker art pieces. I gave it a bit of my own spin with the star balloon. 

Here's the mobile hanging in action.  I added some sparkly beads to give the mobile some eye catching sparkle and then added a few little extras here and there for more texture.  The owl has a branch floating just below her and the Astronaut Boston has a little planet.  I then added sky blue hearts to the tops and bottoms of the plush figures that didn't have any extras hanging.

I'm beyond excited to meet baby Nessie (and to learn her official name)!! I know that Ali and Andy are going to be great parents and Muffin will be sure to take very good care of her too.

 If you're interested in working with me to create the perfect baby mobile for your little one, or a little one in your life I'm always really excited to work with new customers. You can contact me about custom listings HERE.

Be sure to check back to the blog soon. I have a few more things I made for baby Nessie that I'll be sharing!!

<3

Custom Birdcage Veil in Action

I've just received a photo from this STUNNING bride Jen and her handsome groom CJ.  You might remember this cute couple featured on the blog last summer. Jen purchased a hair piece last spring to wear to their courthouse wedding ceremony.  Later that summer, Jen and I worked together to come up with the perfect veil for her ivory lace wedding dress!! 

This custom ordered ivory french veiling birdcage veil was finished off with sweet ivory pearls to add a touch of whimsy and fun. 

Looking at some of the other photos from their wedding day, it looks like they had an absolute blast and so much fun.  Best wishes to the happy couple!!

If you're interested in working with me to develop a custom hair piece, I'm always happy to hear your ideas! Contact me at my Etsy shop: Lavender Paper Hearts

Custom Order: Holiday Pet Bowties

BOWTIES ARE NOW UP FOR SALE ON MY ETSY PAGE: HERE

I got a custom order for doggie bowties & bows last week from my sister. She's going to a Christmas party this weekend and wanted to give something special to the pets in her friend's lives.  After gathering supplies I finished them up this morning, quickly snapped some photos, and mailed them off.  I can't wait to see them in action on all of her friend's dogs!!  

My sister sent me photos of the pups so that I could get a feel for their size and adjust the bows accordingly.  The dogs ranged in size from big, medium, and small.  

Because I knew she was giving them as gifts, I whipped up a simple but cute packaging for her too.

The doggie model checks out the goods... 

These bowties and bows would look great on dogs OR cats!!  Custom orders can be made by sending me a convo on Etsy or messaging me on my Facebook shop page.

You can see more photos on my shop Facebook page: HERE

BOWTIES ARE NOW UP FOR SALE ON MY ETSY PAGE: HERE

Flowers in Action: Congratulations M & E!!

Warning: This post is a bit photo heavy...with awesomeness, of course.  I wanted to share a bit of the development process in how I go about making custom pieces. 

My sister-in-law, Meghan got married two weekends ago to her now hubs Eric M.  Their big day was really lovely from start to finish and it felt extra special because they asked both my husband (Meghan's brother) and me to be in their bridal party, so we got to be involved in all of the action!

Earlier this year Meghan emailed me to ask if I'd make a hair piece for her big day - of course I was super flattered and, moreso, really excited to get to create something she'd wear on such an important day. Her dress was top secret - as in she swore me to secrecy about the dress!!  I was not to show it to anyone.  I took this seriously and didn't even show it to her brother!! Since her wedding has now passed I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind me sharing the process and the details now...

The way that my brain works is really visual.  When I'm making a custom piece for a specific event it really helps me to see the dress (or outfit) to start to develop designs in my head.  I like to see the material, texture, color, and style and design of the dress so I can try and do my best to evoke that in the hair piece.  The designer for Meghan's wedding dress was Sottero and Midgley (sidebar: I LOVE Maggie dresses, I wore one myself!) and the style is called Sidney.  The dress is made of ivory chiffon so I used that as a starting point for the fabric I was going to use for the hair piece.  It was also a material I'd never used before so it was a great new challenge... Plus, let's be real - this was for my SISTER-IN-LAW'S WEDDING - it was kind of a super big deal.

Here's a close up on the detail on her lovely dress:

 

Photo credit: Probably by my MIL

The details are great, right? And that's not even the whole dress (which you can check out here)!!

I spent a lot of time tracking down a rhinestone button center that closely resembled the rhinestones on her dress.  I needed to find something similar so it looked like it flowed with the dress and didn't stick out by being too different aesthetically.

The hair piece is actually quite time intensive as it involved cutting and then molding each individual petal layer. This piece has about 15 layers all together.  When I was getting done with fiddling with all of the petal layers I played around with the shape and volume and sent Meghan photos so she could see the designs I came up with.  She gave me a lot of free reign on the design, so I also wanted to make sure I met the vision she had in mind. This is always the scariest part of making custom pieces for me.  Just because something gets translated in my brain a certain way doesn't mean it will speak to the person I'm making it for in the same way.  In the photo below you can see the different layers stacked up.  The flower with the rhinestone was a less full version I fiddled with.  We ended up going with a much fuller version which I think worked better anyway!!

I also got to get a little creative with the supplies I used to shape the petals themselves.  When poking around my kitchen for the perfect shapes I ended up pulling out an antique champagne glass to help me get the smaller center petal layers just the shape I was looking for!

This is the finished product:

 

I have a similar piece in my shop right now in my shop on Etsy. 

And this is the final product on my SIL after she got her hair done on her wedding day.  Thankfully her MOH remembered to snap a photo of the flower in action because I was running around and it totally slipped my mind!!

Photo used with permission from MOH

<3

Congratulations Meghan & Eric!!

First dance as husband and wife! Just look how cute they are!! 

Photo borrowed with permission from David L.

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I have another DIY tutorial coming up next week. It's going to be hosted over at Bridesmaids and Weddings first so be sure to check back for more info!!

Other wedding craft:

I made these for my SIL's bridal shower and they ended up using them for their wedding day, too! I think they look super cute on the back of the new couple's chairs!!  If anyone is interested ordering these I can make them via custom order in my Etsy shop.